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Freigeist Bierkultur

 

 

 

Only my second from this seemingly one-of-a-kind nano, I temper my opinions for the sake of innovation.
Q (let's call it) is like nothing I have ever tasted. First of all, it is about five ABV above my tolerance threshold (unlike most of you guys, I'm an old man.) Second, I'm not a fan of American Barleywines (high ABV and hops) and I have no credentials with Eisbocks (although I repeat Aventinus' iced rendition about once a year.)

That said, I enjoyed the Q experience and give Freigeist considerable Overall Hugs for innovating in the major brewing tradition that resists change more than they should. The hops in Q make it almost wickedly dry, yet Eisbocks are a sweet dessert beer. Does Freigeist bridge that chasm? Hard to. Also, the barley here seems to have been roasted or something like that to give it an edge than is atypical to this smooth style. Is that wrong? No, but what is the purpose of making Q seem like an RIS.

I suspect there may be some innovation going on in Q that is innovation for its own sake. Is that bad? No. But every experimental brew should anticipate taking us somewhere more permanent. And I don't sense that with Q.

Thanks for Lime Ventures for importing Freigeist and giving Q a chance.

2021 vintage (best by 8/18/25); drank 8/13/23 @ the Yarchives.

Opaque dark brown appearance.

A rough pour yielded almost no tan head; no lacing remained.

Plum, leather, bubblegum, mild caramel & mild booze heat notes in the nose.

Sticky, medium thick mouthfeel.

Bitter dirt, bubblegum, mild coffee & faint booze heat flavors.

This smelled good, but tasted really rough. It's drinkable...barely.

2021 bottle.

Up front, briefly, I get toffee, chocolate and cooked raisin that are barleywine-esque. The bitter smoke comes in fast though. I get your coffee grounds plus a little burnt ends and bakers chocolate. The booze isn't shy either. Unique for sure and I'm very glad to have tried.

Poured at fridge temp. Pours a very dark brown - almost black. Zero head. Nose is full of massive roasted malts. Not picking up any hint of barleywine here, but maybe the taste will reveal something! Charred wood, tobacco, coffee grounds, and burnt toffee.

The taste is intense and bitter. Again, massive charred wood/burnt toffee. No real sign of sweetness, other than the hint of toffee. Mostly roasted malts, tobacco, and coffee grounds. Leather, and a big earthy note here. The hops come through as a hint of grapefruit citrus peel.

Mouthfeel is quite thick and viscous. The finish is long and very bitter. If you like smoke, this is for you. Quite interesting overall. Still can't see much of a barleywine in there, but this is a hybrid with eisbock.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing opaque black in the glass with a only a few bubbles that dissipate to a near still pour. Aroma of dry caramel and biscuit malt, molasses, dates, and dried plums. Flavor is dry caramel malt, noble hops, dates, raisins, rye bread crust, mild dried plums, coffee; a spicy hop bitterness in the finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess and satisfactory, almost sharp, carbonation, despite the near still pour. Wow, what an interesting strong beer. When I saw both "barleywine" and "eisbock" on the label then it being listed as an American barleywine on BA, I was prepared for something different, but this fits all those labels in a rich, satisfying way. The base is kind of a cross between a malty English style barley wine with a eisbock, exactly as promised on the label. Then the hops kick in and this finishes with a quite spicy hop bitterness that is reminiscent of some of the herbal concoctions from Fantome. I was skeptical at first, but had to agree that the American barleywine label is justified by the hops, although it does not have the light fruitiness of that style, leaning to the English. . This is a three way hybrid, for sure. Remarkably interesting and deep in flavor. I'm impressed. The price point on this 33 cl. bottle is quite high, but I'll have to get another to savor this again. A fine barleywine/eisbock that pushes the envelope, but is delicious.